The last time the Twins made a management change, they fired a Hall of Fame player from St. Paul who might have been one of the smartest players in the history of the game, and hired someone who had never succeeded at any level.
In moving from Paul Molitor to Rocco Baldelli, the Twins front office clearly didn’t consult their marketing department, but Baldelli won 101 games his first year and division titles his first two seasons.
Keep this transition in mind, as internet rumors feature high-profile candidates like Torii Hunter and internal candidates like Toby Gardenhire. Twins president Derek Falvey may have no interest in making the kind of hire that will excite the fan base from day one.
If he looked at the marketing department, he would hire Hunter or Nelson Cruz. Hunter would bring a competitive fire to the dugout, which could be good or destructive in shaping the young players the Twins must rely on. Cruz would provide leadership but, like Baldelli, never succeeded at any level.
They could make an internal hire and promote bench coach Jayce Tingler or St. Paul Saints manager Toby Gardenhire. Both are highly regarded in the organization and in the game, but both would have to establish that they can solve the Twins’ current problems, which would be difficult since they played key roles as the Twins missed the playoffs four of the last five seasons.
They could bring back an old favorite like Derek Shelton or Wes Johnson, but Shelton lost under similar circumstances in Pittsburgh, and Johnson would be trying to make the transition from managing in college to managing in the major leagues, and I’m not sure the Twins situation is the right place and time for that experience.
So I’m proposing a candidate who has ties to the Twins, experience with several different MLB teams operating with very different payrolls, who is known to be a charismatic leader and who was there when the Twins won 101 games in 2019.
